MSc
Sustainable Environmental Management
A growing and increasingly important management field
Course Overview
Why take this course?
Reflecting the needs of contemporary environmental and resource management, our course has a multidisciplinary focus and an emphasis on active learning experiences.
This course aims to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the workings of environmental projects for modern sustainable development. You will also carry out an in-depth study of an environmental or resource management issue enabling specialisation on a topic of your own choosing.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Get hands-on experience of using instruments such as GPS, Total Stations and 3D laser scanners
- Complement your studies through case study analysis, lectures from guest speakers and field trip opportunities
- Be taught by experts, who have extensive industrial and consultancy experience and strong research portfolios
What opportunities might it lead to?
We will give you the knowledge and practical skills to secure strategic, tactical, operational, technical and advisory roles in a variety of organisations such as NGOs, charities, commercial companies, environmental and resource management consultancies, as well as teaching and research organisations, both in the UK and internationally.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
- environmental organisations
- geotechnical consultancies
- local authorities
- government agencies
I wanted to further expand my managerial skills and interpersonal qualities and I chose Portsmouth over other institutions because of its reputation for excellent teaching.
Ivelina Nikolva, business and management student
Key Facts
- Duration
- 1 year full time, 2 years part time
- Entry
Subject to approval
A good honours degree or equivalent qualification and/or equivalent professional experience.
English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with a minimum score of 6.0 in all individual components, or equivalent.- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man full-time students: £5,000, part-time students: £1,670 in year 1 and £3,330 plus inflation in year 2
International full-time students: £11,000, part-time students: £3,670 in year 1 and £7,330 plus inflation in year 2
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- pbs.postgradadmissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 8200 - Department
- Portsmouth Business School
Structure & Teaching
You can opt to take this course in full-time or part-time mode.
The academic year is divided into three parts. The first deals with the taught units of the course and for the second, you will undertake two supported themed independent study units. The third focuses on your dissertation.
Here are the units you will study:
Environment and Resource Assessment covering:
- Ecological and Environmental Assessment and Monitoring
- Spatial and Environmental Modelling (incl. GIS)
- Social and Environmental Data Analysis
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Resource and Environmental Economics
- Hazard and Risk Analysis
- Regulatory and Policy Context Analysis
- business analysis
- Research Methods
Environment and Resource Management covering:
- Project Design and Management
- Environmental Governance and Sustainability
- Green Business Strategies
- Hazard and Risk Management
- Change Management
- Environmental Management and Audit Systems
- Resource and Environmental Management
- Resource and Energy Planning and Management
- Integrated Resource Management
- Professional Practice
- Consultancy, Contract Development and Management
For both the Environment and Resource Assessment Applications and Environment and Resource Management Applications units you will apply the knowledge and skills already gained to your own environmental or natural resource question or issue.
The dissertation or research project provides you with an opportunity to independently study an extended dimension of your findings in the previous two units.
Teaching and Assessment
The course provides a balanced structure of lectures, seminars, workshops, group activities, computer and other laboratory-based sessions. We aim to provide an informal, friendly and supportive atmosphere for your studies.
How are you assessed?
The varied forms of assessment have been designed to be skills-based, with an active learning focus that promotes independent, thought-provoking learning. Here’s how we assess your work:
- logbooks and annotated reading
- a work plan of self-directed learning
- a student conference presentation
- research reports
- examinations
- a research proposal
- dissertation/final project report
Facilities & Features
Laboratories
We offer a fully equipped geological, geochemical and geotechnics lab
Specialist Software and Equipment
All facilities and equipment are freely available whenever you should need to use them
The Marine Station
Home to the internationally-renowned Institute of Marine Sciences
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment
Laboratories
We offer a fully equipped geological, geochemical and a recently refurbished geotechnics lab. Brimming with ultra-modern equipment, here’s a taste of what you’ll be able to work on:
- Stress path cell equipment
- Ring shear tests
- Large shear box for soil testing
- Triaxial test cell, Brazilian and uniaxial test rigs for rock testing
Specialist Software and Equipment
You’ll have access to a range of specialist equipment available in no other British geography department. This includes x-ray diffractometer ad spectrometer equipment, photogrammetry equipment, a nutrient auto analyser and high precision GPS equipment for field research. All of these facilities are fully supported by dedicated technical support staff and are freely available whenever you should need to use them.
The Marine Station
This is the home of the internationally-renowned Institute of Marine Sciences – the ideal environment to study marine biology. You will have access to the highest quality resources and facilities, including a new Home Office-licensed aquarium facility, quarantine and animal holding rooms, and research laboratories.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
The multidisciplinary skills, knowledge and professional competencies you will acquire on this course will equip you for the real world challenges within this specialist field of environmental management. You can expect to find roles within a number of areas including environmental/sustainability assessment, environmental/sustainability education, energy research, policy planning, waste management, conservation and consultancy.
This course will provide you with a variety of transferable skills such as project planning, literature and data reviewing, report writing, along with the more general skills of presentation, communication. It also has strong research and analytical components, ideal if you wish to pursue further research to PhD level.
We aim to provide you with as much support as possible in finding employment through close industrial contacts, careers events, recruitment fairs and individual advice.
Career planning
One of the benefits of studying at Portsmouth is the support that we provide to our Master's and Research Degrees students in career planning. Our careers and recruitment service – Purple Door – can assist you in career research and finding employment opportunities. Help is also available if you wish to find a part-time job while studying your degree. We offer our postgraduate students and alumni one-to-one appointments with a careers adviser, or an online service for those not able to travel back to the University. Our alumni can call on our career services for five years after graduation.
In addition, regular employability events offer you the chance to meet employers, find out about different career sectors and improve your applications or CV. The Graduate Summer Programme provides a range of guidance and employability seminars and workshops.